The personal communications wireless network infrastructure requires antennas at each end of the link whether they are outdoors or indoors. These antennas are either passive or active in nature, and are designed to meet different cell coverage needs. These antennas will either be operating at 1850 to 1990 MHz in the United States with other frequency ranges being utilized overseas.
Presently known in the art are antennas which are directed to the passive market for outdoor wireless personal communication, operating in the 1850 to 1990 MHz range. Typically, these antennas are based on a low-profile flat panel design to cover the 30, 65, 85, 90 and 105 beamwidth requirements. The antennas are vertically polarized dipoles on an etched, high performance circuit board(s) on rigid aluminum channel-like back panels. The circuit board(s) are a significant factor in the total cost of the system.
The antennas of the present invention embody a single, simply configured, flat strip radiator spaced apart and electrically isolated from a planar ground plane. Variation in radiation patterns can be effected by simply forming different angles in the strip radiators.
Broadly the invention comprises an antenna having a planar ground plane and a flat strip-like radiator shaped to radiate different beamwidths and the method of making the antenna. The strip is secured to the ground plane such that the strips lie in a plane which is substantially parallel to the ground plane.